Related parties (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended											1 Months Ended			9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended					0 Months Ended					9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Nov. 25, 2013	Aug. 15, 2013	Jul. 02, 2013	May 25, 2013	Jan. 10, 2013	Nov. 25, 2012	Sep. 28, 2012	May 25, 2012	Nov. 30, 2011	Aug. 15, 2011	May 23, 2011	Jul. 31, 2012	Nov. 30, 2011	May 23, 2011	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013 office sqft	Dec. 31, 2012	Jan. 31, 2006 Tecogen	Dec. 31, 2013 Tecogen	Oct. 23, 2009 Ilois	Dec. 31, 2013 EuroSite Power	Jun. 14, 2013 EuroSite Power	Jun. 14, 2013 EuroSite Power Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2015	Jun. 14, 2013 Unsecured Debt Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2015	Jun. 14, 2013 Unsecured Debt EuroSite Power Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2015	Jun. 14, 2013 Nettlestone Enterprises Limited EuroSite Power Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2015	Jun. 14, 2013 Charles T. Maxwell EuroSite Power Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2015	Jun. 14, 2013 Joan Giacinti EuroSite Power Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2015	Jun. 14, 2013 Bruno Meier EuroSite Power Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2015	Sep. 30, 2013 Prepayment from Related Party for Future Purchases [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Prepayment from Related Party for Future Purchases [Member] EuroSite Power
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Sublease Agreement Expires Date																				Mar. 31, 2014
Related Party Transactions Agreement Term												1 year							1 year		5 years
Rental Income Related Party																$ 6,495				$ 6,495
Commissions from related party, sale of equipmentr																				0
Related Party Agreement, Original Square Feet																	3,071
Related Party Agreement, Square Feet																	3,282
Related Party Agreement, Original Number of Offices																	6
Related Party Agreement, Number of Offices																	9
Related Party Agreement, Period for Notice Termination												60 days
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding											2,400,000			2,400,000
Long-term Debt											12,500,000			12,500,000
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date									May 25, 2018		May 25, 2018		May 25, 2018	May 25, 2018
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Effective Interest Rate									6.00%		6.00%			6.00%
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Conversion Price		$ 2.11							$ 2.20	$ 2.11	$ 2.20		$ 2.20	$ 2.20
Percentage Of Option To Redeem Par Value									115.00%		115.00%			115.00%
Due to related party									6,900,000				6,900,000			178,216		41,812
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment, Interest	582,000			582,000		582,000		559,000							20,000
Debt Instrument, Repurchased Face Amount		649,000													649,000
Common stock, shares issued	377,391			316,462		249,787		251,917								49,817,920		48,490,733
Common stock, par value (usd per share)	$ 1.54			$ 1.84		$ 2.33		$ 2.22								$ 0.001		$ 0.001
Non-cash interest expense, adjusted for the difference between the average stock price and the fair market value				53,511				153,921
Number of business days used to determine the average daily closing price of the Company's common stock					10 days		10 days
Reduction in non-cash interest expense adjusted for the difference between the average stock price and the fair market value	59,562					(57,451)
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, Other			4,881,000
Stockholders' Equity Note, Stock Split, Holding Period			6 months
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Conversion Ratio		0.06								0.06
Long-term Debt, Gross		19,400,000								19,400,000
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Conversion Price, Prior (in dollars per share)		$ 2.20								$ 2.20
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity																						1,100,000		1,100,000			300,000	250,000	300,000	250,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage																								6.00%	4.00%	4.00%
Debt Instrument, Face Amount																										4,000,000
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Shares																										1,000
Debt Instrument, Extension Period																										3 years
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Increase (Decrease)																										(3.00%)
Debt Instrument, Term																										3 years
Registration Rights Percentage																							30.00%
Registration Rights, Offering Price, Net																							$ 250,000
Related Party Transaction, Discount Rate																															6.00%	6.00%